Fountain pen



Dec. 23, 1941.

F. M. ASHLEY FOUNTAIN PEN Filed April 29, 1939 zNvENToR.

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Patented Dec. 23, 1941 `Frank 7M. 'AshleyQGreat Kills, N. Y., assignor to LewisGonxperamNew York, N. lYaas trustee H "Application april-29, isssgi-seriaiNo. 279,711

.4- Claims.

My invention relates to fountain pens.

The object of my invention is 'to provide afself lling fountain pen `that iis strong in Jall `of its parts and is composed Aof relatively few parts compared Withvpens ofthe piston ktype now 'fon the market. Further objects of my invention is to provide a lpen havingA a tubular piston'rod on which a piston is carried at its inner end and is preferablyl 4Also to provide -a construction iin which the tubular rod is spaced from the inner 'wall o'f the 'barrel in which it rests, and thus `provides an annular chamber iforair which Vacts as alreatV The said 'annular chamber also A serves j as 'an overflow for inkin case ythe piston shouldjbecome worn,` and ink leaks past 1the piston, thus preventing the ink from escapingjto` the latmosfphere at therear end of 'the barrel.

A `further object is to provide a piston pen in which nostuing4box is required, and no end cap is needed to protect the end of the piston rod.

A further object is to provide a pen in which the ink may be viewed thruout the entire length of the reservoir.

A further object is to provide a construction in which the reservoir portion may be closed by a valve Vaction to confine the ink entirely within the hollow piston rod, in one form of construction.

Referring to the drawing which forms a part of the specification:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a pen disclosing an abutment member lcarried on the rear end of the barrel which is shown as it appears to View when the pen cap mounted thereon, and shown in section, is removed.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the entire combination of elements assembled, with ink in the chamber of the piston rod.

Fig. 3 is a rear end View of the pen in which the rear end abutment is illustrated, and showing the said abutment formed to provide oppositely disposed slots which permit the end of the piston-rod to be grasped by the fingers in the act of iilling the reservoir of the pen with ink.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional View, taken on line 4--4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a sectional fragmental View illustrating the preferred form of flange used in the piston construction; shown on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 6 is a sectional fragmental view of the 'which the barrel 'is used reservoir;

ilanges as they rest in '-contactfwith the `inner "wall of the barrel ofthe-pen.

Fig; '7 is a longitudinal 'sectional'view showing a` modiedgconstruction in which the tubular ypiston-rod `extends into the barrel Vof the pen, "a distance `less than the length of the rod, and in as a pertion of 'the modified; yform of construction.

"Fig. `9A is a'longitu'dinal sectional view ofthe piston andtubular piston-rodthe piston .being Fig. 8 is 'a longitudinal sectional Lview of a 'made separately and thereafter joined tofth'erod,

thusA permitting athicker wall and deeperanges to jbe vusedin making the piston,'an d also perterial from that of the rod.

I0'rindicatesthebarrel ,of the pen, and vI I the rfrontfsection which is' secured theretoA `in the .20..

usual fznanner fby"'screwthr.eads I3, jor 'otherwise.

with the usual feed-duct I2', andwiththe usual passages I4 and I4 and air-tube I5, used in pens of multi-stroke constructions.

Fitted to slide in air-tight relation with the inner wall of the barrel, is a piston I6, made of resilient material, such as hard rubber or Celluloid, or other suitable material that is not affected by the acids of ink used in writing.

The outer edges of the flanges are formed, preferably, as illustrated in Fig. 5, and shaped to provide sharp edges I8 which bend as illustrated in Fig. 6, when the piston is inserted in the barrel, and present iiatte'ned surfaces I9, I9, etc. to the inner wall of the barrel at all times, the shape of the fianges not being changed by the alternate strokes of the piston.

The piston may be formed integral with the piston-rod 20 on which it is mounted, or may be separable, as illustrated in Fig. 9, and in either case it is made with a diameter greater than that of the interior diameter of the barrel and thus serves to provide an annular space or chamber 2| between the barrel and piston-rod wall, which serves as an insulating means to prevent transmission of heat from the hand of a user to the ink reservoir formed in the hollow piston rod, and also serves as an overflowchamber in case the piston should become leaky from any cause.

In Figs. 1, 2, 6, and 8, the piston normally rests in abutment with the end of the pen section at 22 in ink-tight relation and forms a valve which will prevent ink from leaking by the piston in case it should become leaky from long Wear, and

diameter from the piston to its outer end, together with the plug 23 which closes the rear end of the piston-rod chamber. The end abutment element 25 serves as an abutment for the piston on its outward stroke, the piston striking the end Wall of said plug at 24.

The inner end of the plug 23 is recessed to receive the adjacent end of the air-tube I5 and is belled as shown at 23 to insure the entrance of the air-tube in the event that the air tube is not in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the barrel.

The abutment plug 25 is slotted on opposite sides as illustrated at 25 in Fig. 3, and the end plug 23 is formed with an annular groove 26 which rests in position relative to the abutment element as illustrated in Fig. 1, the arrangement being such that the end of the plug 23 is covered While permitting the said end to be grasped by the fingers to operate the piston-rod in the act of filling the pen with ink.

In the construction shown in Fig. 8, the tubular piston-rod is made in'two sections, 20, and 20 joined at 21, and the end of section 2B indicated by 28 abuts the end 24 inthe filling operation.

The construction shown Vin Fig. 7, includes a ring 29 which serves an an abutment valve for the piston i6, the piston-rod being shortened re1- ative to those shown in the other figures, and the barrel adjacent lthe inner end of the piston serves as a part of the reservoir for ink, thus permitting a greater quantity of ink to be stored in the pen.

The outer surface of the ring is cemented to? the inner surface of the barrel, or held in xed position by friction.A l

The inner diameter of the abutment plug 25 corresponds to' the outer diameter of the pistonrod which slides therethru and guides the pistoni.

in true alignment with the axis of the barrel inthe filling operation.

By covering the outer end of the piston-rod in the manner shown in Fig. 1, there is no danger of the said end catching in the clothing in removing it from a pocket or other receptacle, and no separate cap is required to shield it.

The pen is filled in the usual manner of filling pens of the plunger type of construction, that is, by reciprocating the piston one or more times, depending upon the length of the stroke of the piston, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention relates.

It will be understood that the barrel and pis ton-rod may both be made of transparent or ytranslucent or opaque material suitable for such use.

It will also be understood that by making the Wall of the piston quite thin, it will conform to minor changes of form of the inner Wall of the barrel.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new:

1. A fountain pen comprising a barrel, a pumping mechanism comprising a piston-rod slidable within said barrel, the rear end of said barrel being provided with oppositely disposed slots through which the end of said piston rod may be grasped and freely moved.

2.v A construction as dened in claim 1, in which said slots are open at their outer ends.

3. The' construction as dened in claim 1, together with the outer end of said piston-rod beingof bulbous form to permit easy grasping.

V4. A fountain pen comprising a barrel, a tubular piston-rod, and a ring-shaped piston mounted thereon, formed t0 provide a plurality of thin resilient flanges arranged in juxtaposed relation and of slightly larger diameter than the inner diameter of said barrel and having backwardly directed sharp edges adapted to slide in close contact with the -inner wall of the barrel.

FRANK M. ASHLEY. 

